Black Thought is one of Hip-Hop’s consummate showmen. Flip on the TV five nights a week, attend a Roots Picnic, or search the web, and it’s well documented. As if Tariq Trotter does not already work hard enough, the Philadelphia MC swung through Statik Selektah’s Blue Note show in New York City. There, Black Thought rocked 2013’s “Bird’s Eye View” with poise and passion.

Black Thought treats his Extended Play guest shot like it was one of his Grammy pieces. Statik and the band move to “The Imperial,” another Thought and Statik collabo (2014’s What Goes Around). As his verse winds down, Thought goes off the rails with some new material, freaking the Funk before a live audience.